


I Never Planned on You

by Haxxaholic



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canon Era, Darcy falls in love and doesn't even know, Developing Friendships, Henry is a Little Shit, M/M, One Shot, but from Darcy's point of view, but totally overprotective, following the timeline of the musical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 17:49:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10644948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haxxaholic/pseuds/Haxxaholic
Summary: It happened one lovely morning, in front of an old building. He met the eyes of a boy with eternal messy brown hair and a wonderful smile who would change his life forever.It was definitely not by choice and it took Darcy a moment to understand he had fallen hard and fast.





	I Never Planned on You

**Author's Note:**

> My first Newsies fanfic, look at me being all proud. :D
> 
> I won't lie, I am a sucker for Kyle Coffman as Henry and had to write something related to my favorite newsie. Of course, Thayne Jasperson is Darcy because, duh.  
>  ~~There's also Andy Richardson as Romeo because my favorite cast is forever going to be the original cast of Newsies.~~
> 
> Enjoy & sorry in advance for any grammar mistake.

Darcy didn't believe in love at first sight. He could understand love and believed it was easy to manipulate this emotion but love at first sight? It was _childish_.

While his father was pushing him to marry Katherine Pulitzer, the attractive and clever heiress of the New York World, Darcy didn’t feel ready. He wanted to travel around the world, needed to publish some books about his adventures in Europe and Asia, fully live his life. He was only 19. He didn’t need a wife to burden him in New York. He liked Katherine but Darcy knew she wouldn’t be happy with him, she deserved way better than him.

For Darcy, falling in love was a _choice,_ not some kind of destiny thing or an arranged marriage between two heirs. He decided a long time ago that he would be the one to choose the person he would fall in love with.

***

It happened one lovely morning, in front of an old building. He met the eyes of a boy with eternal messy brown hair and a wonderful smile who would change his life forever.

It was _definitely_ not by choice and it took Darcy a moment to understand he had fallen hard and fast.

***

Darcy and Katherine were walking down the street, not far from the newsboys’ lodgings house when a bunch of newsies busted out of the old building, laughing and joking.

Some of the boys didn’t even acknowledge them until a short kid actually did and started a conversation with them, attracting everyone’s attention.

“Well, hello hello hello, beautiful!” The newsie said with a charming smile to Katherine. Before he could say anything else, he was pushed behind by an older, taller boy who immediately began to flirt with the woman.

Darcy wasn’t listening anymore and instead was completely frozen in place. Two boys behind him and Katherine had caught his eyes. One of them was observing him, it was obvious he had woken recently and was late, he was still dressing up and had a serious case of bed hair going on. His brown eyes were a mix of mirth and mischievousness.

The newsboy next to him was whispering to him but his friend didn’t seem to listen and instead kept staring at Darcy with a smirk.

Darcy finally snapped out of his stupor when he heard the tall boy proposing something to Katherine. He knew she could fend for herself but he was a gentleman and this boy was being rude and improper. He was about to step in when Katherine stopped him with his hand and replied something witty before taking his arm and leaving with a satisfied smirk.

When Darcy looked a last time behind him, the boy was still staring but immediately winked at him with a cheeky smile and a wave when he saw Darcy’s eyes on him. The man blushed and walked faster, ignoring Katherine's yelp of surprise.

If Darcy's heart started beating faster when he heard the boy's amused laugh? No one needed to know.

***

Darcy couldn’t stop thinking about the boy, he didn’t understand why. He was a newsboy, probably a runaway or an orphan without a penny to his name.

It wasn’t rational and Darcy refused to believe he had been bewitched by the smile of a perfect stranger.

***

He met the boy a second time during the strike. He’d read Katherine’s article about the newsies’ strike (Newsies stop the World!) and while he was insanely proud of her he was also dreadfully worried about her father’s reaction.

And Joseph Pulitzer’s reaction was a _bad_ one. He decided to send goons after the newsies. Kids against adults, the fight was unfair and didn’t turn in favor of the newsboys at all.

When Darcy heard about the brawl, he immediately thought the worst. He knew one boy had been sent to the Refuge while the others had run away and were scattered all around Manhattan.

One particular newsie’ whereabouts were worrying him and once again, Darcy didn't understand why.

***

Late that night, Darcy found said newsie in the alley behind his father’s mansion, sheltering the short boy who had stopped them at the lodgings house. Both were totally distressed and in a bad shape, bruises all over their body. The taller boy was bleeding heavily from a wound on his arm and looked beyond exhausted. Gone were the playful smile and the mirth in his eyes, they were now replaced by hurt and anger.

Darcy didn’t think twice and immediately rushed to help them. The boy was instantly on his feet, pushing his body between Darcy's and his friend's.

“Go away.” He hissed. Darcy knew he would fight even if he was obviously too tired and too injured to throw a good punch.

“I am not going to hurt you.” Darcy softy said, as if talking to a young, scared child. He took a step forward. “I want to help you.”

“You are one of them.” The boy spitted, not moving an inch and looking furious that Darcy would keep moving without listening to him. “Just leave us alone!”

Darcy was lost, he wasn't used to people dismissing him that way. “Let me help you, _please_. You are bleeding and your friend needs some help too.”

The boy didn't move and kept throwing daggers with his eyes at Darcy. The heir could see it was getting harder for him to stand, only his stubbornness was keeping him up.

A cut on the kid's eyebrow was slowly bleeding, it looked painful and yet he didn't seem to notice. He didn't have his vest on and was violently shaking because of the cold but he wouldn't move. Darcy was in awe in front of such determination.

“Henry…” A small voice suddenly interrupted the staring contest between the two of them. “He was with Katherine the other day… He might help us?”

Darcy nodded. "I can!"

“Are you crazy, Romeo?” The boy, Henry, said through clenched teeth. “Remember what happened because we listened to her!?” He really needed to sit, the world was spinning but he couldn't: he had to protect Romeo from this stranger. “They got Crutchie! They sent him to the Refuge without a second thought!”

Darcy suddenly understood Henry's fire to protect Romeo. Everyone knew about the Refuge and the kind of _things_ they were doing to the kids getting sent there. He would never send anyone to this horrible place. _Never_.

“I promise I am not going to send you to the Refuge, I just want to help.” Darcy tried again. “ _Please_.”

*

Henry didn’t say anything and just stared at Darcy for a couple of minutes. He remembered this young man, how could he not? Henry reminisced how he had jumped in to protect Katherine from a too flirty Jack. He had seen him around New York too, helping old people and giving money to the younger kids. He may have been rich but he didn't act like one of the snobby heirs they could find all around the town. Plus, he couldn't have been that bad if he was a friend of the female reporter.

With a tired sigh, Henry finally decided to trust his instincts and let his guards down. “Okay.” He murmured. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it later.

***

Henry didn’t say much during his stay in Darcy’s house. He kept close to Romeo to make sure his friend was all right.

“What happened to your face?” Darcy asked to Romeo while cleaning the boy’s wounds. The bruises on his face, arms and legs weren't pretty and looked painful.

“Cop smacked me in the face.” The small boy replied with a shrug as if it was a normal occurrence to be hit by an adult. "Got thrown around a bit by these guys too." Darcy's eyes widened.

“What about you?” He turned his attention to Henry who was standing next to Romeo. The wound on his arm was still bleeding and a bunch of nasty looking scraps could be seen on his hands, legs and forearms. His right eye was already sporting the beginning of a black-eye, the cut above it had finally stopped to bleed by itself. He still looked exhausted but a good cup of coffee and some food had helped him a little.

“Got thrown down a couple of stairs,” Henry responded, staring right into Darcy's eyes. “One of the fuckers didn’t like me punching him in the face for hurting Buttons.”

Darcy froze and stared at the boys with horror. They were kids, only a few years younger than him, they shouldn’t be acting as if being thrown down the stairs or getting hit by anyone were totally ordinary for them. He was almost certain Henry had a concussion and should have been laying on a bed instead of standing but the boy had refused to leave Romeo's side even for a second. The newsboys had a strong bond and were fiercely protective of each other and the young man respected it.

Darcy didn’t ask them anything else.

***

The next morning, when Romeo and Henry had already left to go back to the lodgings house after spending the night in the same room, Darcy decided he had to help them. He _needed_ to. Romeo, Henry... _every_ newsies.

Romeo who had given him a hug for allowing them to take a shower, for giving them some food, a good bed for the night, for helping them... A hug for being a _decent_ human being. A boy like Romeo didn’t deserve to be hit in the face by anyone.

Just like Henry didn't deserve to have anything but mirth and mischievousness in his eyes. Anger, worry, sadness, ... They didn't belong in them. Henry who didn't trust any adults and would have fought Darcy to protect Romeo while being injured.

Darcy still couldn’t explain why his heart started beating faster when Henry smiled at him before leaving the house but it was an amazing sensation and he wanted to feel it again.

***

When Katherine asked him to help the newsies, he didn’t think twice and immediately agreed to join the Revolution.

***

Darcy met Henry a third time when Katherine launched her plan against her father. The wounds on his brow, arms and hands were almost gone and his left eye was already turning into a terrible shade of yellow but he looked fine enough for someone who had been about to pass out less than a week ago.

Darcy still didn't like this Jack guy but Katherine seemed totally under his charm… Enough to defy her father for him and his newsboys. He couldn’t understand her but he respected her and would never questioned her choices. Even if it meant he had to stay and work on the Revolution with Jack Kelly in a dark cellar with Bill, Katherine and a newsie named Racetracks. When Darcy heard that the other boys were on their way to this place, he suddenly got impatient for them to appear and launch their plan.

When they did arrive, Darcy's heart jumped in his chest: Henry was among the boys coming downstairs to help with the old machine. He couldn't understand his body's reaction and he decided to ignore for now this weird sensation he seemed to always feel around the younger boy.

*

Henry had been surprised to see Darcy in the room with Jack, Race and Katherine. He knew Darcy's father could disown him for helping the newsies. He thought that the heir helping them after the fight was a one time thing, his good action of the day. He was apparently terribly wrong and was secretly glad to have been.

After oiling the old machine, they immediately started to work. They didn't talk and kept working quickly, Henry giving the paper while Darcy was activating the engine. Jack and Katherine were in a corner of the room, talking quietly. Race was with the other boys upstairs, ready to go back to the streets. 

After a while, everything was printed and the papes were equally distributed between the boys. Jack, Race, Romeo, Albert, Finch, Specs, Spot, ... They all left, determined to win the strike.

Soon, Henry and Darcy were the two last remaining in the dark basement. 

They stared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to break the silence.

"Why did you help us today?" Henry finally asked. He _needed_ to know.

It was an easy question for Darcy to answer.

"The world deserves to see your smile more." He replied without thinking and then promptly flushed. He wasn't supposed to say it out loud. "I mean I-"

He was interrupted by an amused laugh, the same as the first time they met.

Darcy was ready to get mocked at but instead, Henry softly smiled at him. This smile made him looked so young and innocent, so different from the boy he met during two different situations. It seemed so sincere and personal that Darcy suddenly felt weak at the knees.

His heart started beating faster when Henry walked towards him and got close enough to whisper a small _thank_ _you_ against his ear. The kiss on his cheek almost felt like a feather and was over way too fast to Darcy's opinion. Before he could say anything, Henry was already running outside of the dark cellar with the freshly printed papes.

Darcy was lost.

***

The strike was over and the newsies had won. The boys were back in the streets, selling papes with boring headlines.

Darcy was back to his normal, uneventful life. His father had been furious when he heard he had been a part of the newsies' Revolution but seeing the boys back in the streets with a smile was definitely worth every threat of disowning and arranged marriage he got for a week.

Sadly, something was now missing in his life and he had no idea _how_ and _where_ to find it.

***

Darcy saw Henry in front of the lodgings house, two weeks after the strike. The younger boy was surrounded by some newsies and he was busy playing a cards game.

He looked so happy and carefree that it made Darcy smile.

The young man forgot how to breathe when Henry suddenly looked up and met his eyes. The smile that appeared on the newsie’ face was worth more than a thousand sun and Darcy _fell_.

***

He finally understood why his heart would start beating faster around Henry, why he felt like something -no, _someone_ was missing in his life.

All it took for Darcy to fall in love was a meeting that wasn't supposed to happen. _Bill_ should have been the one meeting Katherine that day but something had come up and Darcy had to fill in for him. Five minutes earlier or later and he wouldn't have met Henry but he _did_.

***

A couple of years later, Darcy finally had everything he'd hoped for: he'd traveled around the world, saw beautiful things, helped people and wrote some books about his adventures.

When he was 19, Darcy pictured himself doing all these things alone. He didn't need someone with him, he didn't need love.

Darcy used to not believe in love at first sight until Henry, the newsie.

A young boy with a deceased father and a missing mother.

A newsboy without a penny to his name but a heart bigger than anyone else's and a smile worth more than the world.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I blame [this performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HIZ7K2mPaI&index=15&list=PLld3vhcu0GX1tSQP3et1EKE9Q2W6oA3T7) and every Thayne/Kyle moments in the OBC musical for this fic. I am sorry. :3
> 
> And yes, the title is taken from the Katherine/Jack song "I Never Planned on You" from the musical.


End file.
